In the dream, I'm somewhere living near the California coast. Or Oregon. But it looks more like a bayou or swamp. I had to go pick up something up north from where we live; my Mom and Step-Dad offer their Lexus, which would make quick time up the highway, and I'd be able to easily come back down and get home.
Instead, I opt for a carved out miniature pirate ship, about 2M long, which has a single mast and a fixed sail in it. There's already some water in the body of the craft, probably from recent rain. I sit aft and let my legs drape over the sides a bit, so I don't get my feet wet in the puddled water, or in the "ocean" (which looks suspiciously brackish).
Oddly, the trip is very smooth and effortless for the first half-hour or so. The ship is sailing itself, and I'm basically steering by leaning. I realize this wind may not last, and look for an oar. There's one small oar laying in the water in the ship's carved-out passenger area. That'll have to do.
I see something nearly castle-like, a rich person's waterfront home, made from stones and wood. It has a small harbor, into which I accidentally sail. I lean hard, and the ship comes around, and I exit. I feel like there may be people in the house who are wondering what the hell I'm doing, like when a car pulls into your driveway just to turn around, and you don't recognize the car as being a friend's.
Not 50M later on, I'm coming upon a few headlands which are jutting into my path, and I'm thinking about how to get around them, when I see three alligators basking on top of it, all facing my way. In the suddenly clear (AND DEEP) water, I see at least two more alligators swimming smoothly along the bottom. This... this isn't something I am ready to deal with, on this casual little day's sail up the coast.
There are some kids on the nearby shore, separate from all the alligators; they're shouting for me to be aware of the danger. I'm already turning around, and heading back the way I came, toward the castle I'd just passed, and the (hopefully) half-hour distant dock from which I started.
I mean, what was I thinking? How would I have gotten back down the coast to begin with? I had to pick up my wife! She would want to come back in a car, and I'd have no way to get the toy ship back to the dock! And if I convinced her to get in this ship, how long would it have taken to get back down the coast? And now: alligators!
As I turn the ship around, I notice there is already an alligator just off to the side of my intended path. He wasn't there before. His snout is pointing across my path, and his side-facing eyeball is taking in everything in my direction. He slides down the bank and enters the water.
Somehow, my son is on a veranda at the nearby castle. He says he's going to come help me, which is the worst idea ever, and I am pretty sure I'll be eaten or killed or something, and I try to tell him to go inside and call 911 immediately, mainly so he doesn't see what's about to happen.
The alligator begins to surface next to my boat; I withdraw my legs from the sides, and get ready to punch it in the nose as it breaks the surface. I'm pretty sure I can connect, but I'm also pretty sure that only works on sharks.
As I swing for it, I wake up.
For the next 30 minutes, in the dark, I fade in and out of consciousness, going back to the ship, but not that same moment, trying to solve the puzzle of out to get out of harm's way. Then I realize I should just wake up.